The present invention relates to a device for preventing sail chafe on lifelines and, more specifically, for aiding sailors in skirting a head sail over the stanchions and lifelines of a boat when the head sail is blown outside of the lifelines of the boat and the sailors desire to trim the sail so that it lies within the lifelines of the boat or to a position above the deck of the vessel.
Sailboats are often fitted with lifelines to prevent sailors falling overboard.
Sailboats up to 30 feet are usually fitted with one lifeline at 18 inches above the deck, and sailboats larger then 30 feet are often fitted with a pair of lifelines. The lifelines are made from wire. The wire lifelines may be coated with plastic or fitted with sleeves (also of plastic) to protect the sails and users from the rough surfaces of the wires.
In sailboats of longer than 30 feet, the pair of wires are generally set about 12 inches and 24 inches above the level of the deck. The wires are typically supported every 7 feet by vertical tubes called stanchions. These tubes are typically made from metal. The top height of the stanchion typically corresponds to the height of the upper of the two lifelines.
While these lifelines are important for the safety of the sailors, helping to prevent them from falling overboard, especially in rough seas, they can interfere with the trimming of the sails.
Sail trim is a vital component to sailing efficiency. If the sails of a boat are not properly trimmed the boat will move slowly. Sail trim is especially important in racing. If sails continuously flap (flag) or abrade on something they will wear out quickly.
The placement of the lifelines and stanchions on a typical sailboat are particularly troublesome for trimming of the fore sail or head sail after a tacking maneuver. Types of fore sail or head sails include jibs and genoas, with most sail boats commonly being sailed with a jib as well as the main sail, when going up wind.
The jib is positioned in front of the mast on a typical sailboat. The jib is a triangular sail with three points of trim. The top apex of the triangular sail is called the head. The forward corner of the sail is called the tack. The rearward tip of the sail is called the clew. The sail is rigged on a stay that runs from a tack fitting at the bow of the boat to the top of the mast. This stay is typically called the fore stay. Both the tack fitting at the bow of the boat and the top of the mast typically lie on the center plane of the boat.
The stay is typically a wire or rod. The jib is rigged by attaching a halyard to the head of the sail, attaching the front edge of the sail or luff to the stay by a clip that will allow the front edge of the sail or luff to run up and down on the stay and pulling on the halyard which is run over the top of the mast on a pulley.
The tack of the sail is attached to the stay and the jib tack fitting at the bow of the boat. Typically, the tack of the sail will be attached to the stay very close to the deck of the boat. This elevation is preferably well below the top lifeline of the boat.
The luff of the sail generally corresponds to the line defined by the stay. Depending on the length of the luff, the head sail can reach to the top of the mast or at a point on the stay below the top of the mast. Depending on the particular rigging of the boat, the head sail and the head sail stay can be specially fitted to actually hold the luff of the head sail along its entire length or at various points along its entire length.
The rest of the trim of the sail is controlled by putting tension on the sail at the clew so that the clew of the sail is pulled toward the center plane and the stern of the boat.
When a sailboat tacks (the boat is turned towards the wind until the wind comes from the opposite side of the vessel), the head sail or jib has to be moved from one side of the boat to the other. The head sail or jib has to be moved from the leeward side of the boat to the other side of the boat.
However, in certain boats, because of space limitations and the size of the head sail or jib, moving the jib from one side of the boat to the other can be a difficult maneuver to accomplish quickly.
It is common for the foot or bottom of the head sail or jib to be very long. Typically, head sails with longer foot or bottom have more power, thus they are desirable, even if their length can make them more difficult to trim.
It is also typical for the foot or bottom of the head sail to be so long that when the sail is fully sheeted-in for proper trim given the wind conditions the foot of the sail runs past an upstanding structure of the boat, such as the mast. Such head sails are often referred to as overlapping head sails. During the turning of the boat, the mast or other upstanding structure can interfere with the ability of the head sail or jib to be moved from one side of the boat to the other.
During a tack, to get around the upstanding structure, such as the mast, the tension on the clew or back tip of the head sail that allowed the head sail to capture the wind is released. This allows the back or clew of the sail to be blown and/or pulled forward towards the bow of the boat and around the forward side of the mast or other upstanding structure.
However, once the clew of the sail clears the upstanding structure or mast of the boat, the clew of the sail will want to be blown directly downwind and over the leeward side of the boat and over and outside of the lifelines of the boat.
Once the clew of the head sail clears the mast or other upstanding structure of the boat, the sailors on the boat, ideally, try to reapply tension to and to pull the clew of the sail as quickly as possible towards the stern to once again capture wind in the sail and accelerate more quickly.
It is to be noted that typically the tension on the head sail is controlled by a rope or sheet attached to the clew or back corner of the sail, and this line or sheet is controlled by a sailor near the stern of the boat, so that even if the jib or head sail does not run past the mast the line or sheet controlling it does.
To control and get power in the head sail as quickly as possible, typically the clew of the head sail is connected to two jib sheets, each sheet passing around a different side of the mast of the boat.
Thus to accomplish a tacking operation in a typical sailboat, tension on the first jib sheet on the original (leeward) side is released, the clew or back corner of the head sail is allowed to be blown around the front of the mast or other upstanding structure, and then as quickly as possible, the second jib sheet on the other side (the new leeward side) is pulled toward the sailor and the stern of the boat to reapply tension to the clew of the head sail and capture wind in the head sail.
Sailboats are typically fitted with blocks, winches and cleats to aid the sailor in sheeting in and holding the jib at a certain orientation with respect to the wind. The jib sheet winches and cleats are typically located aft of the mast near the cockpit in the stern of the boat. Often the location of other halyards, sheets and lines for other parts of the rigging of the boat will mean these winches and cleats for the head sail are best set away from the center plane of the boat to make best use of the limited space on the boat for all the rigging needs of the boat.
Each of the sheets attached to the clew of the head sail are also typically run through a block attached to the deck of the boat. This block is generally mounted on a track that allows it to be positioned at different locations along the length of the hull, depending on the expected types of sailing that will occur, and is called a car, because it is moveable. This track for the pulley is typically mounted close to the outside edge of the boat on deck of the boat. This car on its track is typically called a jib-car.
The blocks for the clew of the head sail are also typically mounted aft of the mast and often are also mounted aft of at least two of the stanchions supporting the lifelines.
Thus, on a typical boat with typical lifelines that rise as high as 24″ above the deck of the boat, the sheet lines that provide the only directional control of the clew of the head sail can be mounted close to 24″ below the level of the top lifeline and could be lower if the deck is sunken at that point where the block attaches to the deck of the boat.
The winches are helpful in sheeting the head sail when it begins to capture the wind as they allow the sailor to expend less energy in tensioning the large sails. In fact, in some cases the strength of the wind is too great for the sailor to fully sheet-in the sail during some maneuvers without the aid of the pulley and winches. Sometimes winches can also help the sailor to sheet the head sail in more quickly than he could otherwise.
During a properly executed tack, once the clew of the head sail clears the forward portion of the mast, it is usually important to sheet-in the head sail on the new side of the mast as quickly as possible to stop the head sail from flagging and assist the boat in finishing the tacking maneuver and accelerating as quickly as possible.
However, even if the sheet is pulled in quickly, the wind may blow the clew and much of the foot of head sail outside the lifelines of the boat so that the bottom or foot of the jib is outside of (and below the level of) the lifelines.
As noted earlier, the tack of the sail is attached to the rigging at a point below the lifelines at the bow of the boat. So if the clew of the sail along with other portions of the foot of the sail are blown outside and over the lifelines of the boat, the forward portion of the foot of the sale will be pulled up and over the lifelines. The action on the aft portion of the foot of the head sail is somewhat similar. The sheet that controls the clew of the head sail runs through a block or car that is also well below the top lifeline of the boat, so if the clew of the sail along with other portions of the foot of the sail are blown outside and over the lifelines of the boat the sheet will be pulled up and over the lifelines. However, even though the tack of the sail is anchored below the lifelines and on the inside of the lifelines at or near the deck, and the sheet attached to the clew is also being pulled from a point at a block that is below the lifelines and on the inside of the lifelines at or near the deck, and even though both the forward portion of the foot of the head sail and the sheet had to be pulled up and over the lifelines, the shape of the sail allows it to fill with air when there is wind such that it resists being pulled in towards the boat by the sheet, but more importantly, the shape and rigging of the sail also allows the foot of the sail to drop outside and below the top level of the lifelines.
Then as the head sail is sheeted in, the sail starts to approach the lifelines of the boat and to be stretched along the outside of the life lines.
Also, because the tack and the sheet are located at the level of the deck and below the top of the lifelines, the foot of the sail is pulled downward as it is sheeted-in. This causes the foot of the sail to push down on the lifelines, and to the extent that there is slack on the lifelines the lifelines where the sail comes over them is pushed down as well.
Eventually, as the sailor continues to trim the sail by sheeting-in, the sailor will reach a point in the process where one or more of the tops of stanchions depending on where the foot of the sale fell outside of the stanchions will be rubbing against the material of the sail, and most of the foot of the sail will be under tension with the sail pushing down on the lifelines at two points, and the foot of the sail is below the tops of one or more of the stanchions, and the sailor risks puncturing the sail with the tops of one or more of the stanchions if she sheets in any further.
At this point, usually, the trimming, the tensioning of the sheet attached to the clew of the sail, has to be stopped midway while the foot of the jib is manually pulled up and over the lifelines and the stanchion. This manual task is often referred to as “skirting the jib”. Then the trimming can be finished.
Several devices are sold that help reduce the possibility of tearing the sail on the stanchions due to problems with trimming the head sail.
In certain instances, some of devices probably do help the jib up and over the stanchion, but none is able to achieve the results of this invention.
Devices typically called “sail chafe protectors” such as those sold in the Harken Catalogue, part number 285, and Ronstan Catalogue, part number PNP209, are designed to act as rollers to reduce friction as the foot of the jib is pulled up and over the top lifeline and tops of the stanchions. These devices are wheels that are attached to the lifelines and can rotate around the lifeline. Stops are typically placed on the lifelines near the stanchions to keep these rollers near the stanchions where they can help the sail over the stanchion. However, the foot of the head sail can still be trapped on the outside of the lifelines with these devices in certain situations such that the sail cannot be skirted over the lifelines except by manually lifting the foot of the sail over the lifelines by grabbing and lifting the foot of the sail near the center of the sail.
The inventor has also seen sailors attach hard spheres, such as hollow hand-sized plastic balls to the stanchions, near or at the tops of the stanchions, to help prevent the sail from being torn by the tops of the stanchions when the sail is sheeted in too tightly when portions of the foot of the sail have been blown over the lifelines. However, the foot of the head sail can still be trapped on the outside of the lifelines with these devices and need manual lifting, since these devices have not been optimized for the particular configuration of the lifelines, stanchions, sail and its rigging.
Another common setup and method is to have the lifelines as tight as possible so they don't sag, so that only a small portion of the foot of the sail is trapped on the outside of the lifelines and then to strike downward on the top lifeline where it comes in reach of the sailor in the cockpit in an attempt to cause a wave in the lifeline that will throw the jib over the tops of one or more of the stanchions. This approach is by no means guaranteed to work in all situations.